At least you have to give President Obama high marks for creativity in his latest attempt to curtail freedom and individual rights. Specifically, Im talking about Mr. Obamas assault on private property rights through the abuse of the Endangered Species Act.

I strongly support protecting endangered species. No one I know wants to see a species go anywhere near extinction. The far-left environmentalists in the Obama administration, however, have gone way beyond this by settling litigation with their allies in environmental groups behind closed doors. Through these secret settlements, they are advancing a much more radical, aggressive agenda than anything that is actually mandated by law.

This is a tactic called sue-and-settle, and it has become a central tool used to advance the radical environmental agenda. This is how it works: Far-left environmental groups sue the federal government  in this case, under the Endangered Species Act  claiming that the government is not satisfying its regulatory obligations. Then the groups and their friends in the administration draft a settlement agreement completely behind closed doors. No other stakeholder or representative of the public is provided the opportunity to shed light on how they might be impacted. The parties then get the judge to bless their agreement. Thats usually easy, since he doesnt get to hear any opposing arguments and is often eager to get rid of what would otherwise be a complicated, time-consuming case.

In 2011, the Obama U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did exactly this in concert with far-left environmental groups. That settlement teed up more than 250 species and their potential critical habitat for review and eventual onerous regulation. This future regulation could prohibit many beneficial uses of tens of millions of acres of private property. All this was set in motion while...

"I strongly support protecting endangered species. No one I know wants to see a species go anywhere near extinction."

Why? Species have been going extinct since the beginning of time and will continue to do so. It's part of the balance and cycle of nature. For those who believe in evolution it's an essential element of the process. For us who believe in God it's all a part of his control and management of his creation. Thus, why is this ESA so important?

Sadly, the ESA has become a tool for enviro-nazis to abuse private property rights and limit or completely halt economic and legitimate use of public lands. Those public lands belong to the people of our country, not the government.

6
posted on 02/08/2013 9:28:36 AM PST
by jazusamo
("Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent." -- Adam Smith)

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